Mame 2 player turn based games, Controller issue

Krait

I have a raspberry Pi 3 model B with Retropie 3.8.1. I use Dual Gamepad Astrum Gp220

Used clrmamepro to rebuild all roms to mame4all, When i run the games 2 player games work fine and both remotes work fine as well.

When running games like Super Mario which is turn based the second controller does not work and both players need to use 1 controller as the game only functions with the 1 controller and it is like the second controller is disabled.

I know it is probably just a setting, but i am out of my depth with Retropie and Mame.

Any help would be appreciated.

I use mame4all because that is where most of the games work and i have read multiple blogs and websites about demystifying mame roms, but i still don't get it.

meleu

@Krait
You can use this tool to configure which controller will be the input for RetroArch players 1-4:
http://github.com/meleu/RetroPie-joystick-selection

It configures only the RetroArch emulators (NES, SNES, MegaDrive, Master System, PlayStation). It doesn't configure the mame4all, but it seems that your problem is with the RetroArch emulators...

P.S.: you can be confused with some terms that usually means the same thing...
RetroArch emulators = RetroArch cores = libretro cores = libretro emulators

Krait

@meleu

Thank You i will definitely give it a try and see what happens.

Riverstorm

@Krait said in Mame 2 player turn based games, Controller issue:

games like Super Mario which is turn based the second controller does not work and both players need to use 1 controller

Just to verify you're playing Super Mario Bros. in mame4all? I thought they only had Mario Bros. which would be two players at the same time. Do you happen to know the ROM/file name?

Krait

@Riverstorm said in Mame 2 player turn based games, Controller issue:

@Krait said in Mame 2 player turn based games, Controller issue:

games like Super Mario which is turn based the second controller does not work and both players need to use 1 controller

Just to verify you're playing Super Mario Bros. in mame4all? I thought they only had Mario Bros. which would be two players at the same time. Do you happen to know the ROM/file name?

The files i have is suprmria and suprmrio.

I know the one you are talking about it was also called pipeline and mario brothers.

The one i am talking about is player 1 gets a turn and then player 2 after player 1 dies or times up.

Riverstorm

@Krait said in Mame 2 player turn based games, Controller issue:

Used clrmamepro to rebuild all roms to mame4all. The files i have is suprmria and suprmrio.

I'm still not seeing that ROM for mame4all-pi or lr-imame4all (MAME 0.37b5). I do see suprmrio in lr-mame2003 (MAME 0.78) and AdvMAME (MAME 0.106) but not suprmria. It might make a difference on how you troubleshoot the issue depending on the emulator you're using.

caver01

@Krait There is also the possibility that the original arcade machine was only ever built with one set of controls and the emulation is simply an accurate representation of that. There are many games in MAME that work that way even if you have dedicated controls for both players. I have even seen situations where the game only takes input from the second set of controls if the DIP switch for cabinet is set to cocktail mode (Black Tiger is a good example).

Riverstorm

@caver01 said in Mame 2 player turn based games, Controller issue:

There is also the possibility that the original arcade machine was only ever built with one set of controls and the emulation is simply an accurate representation of that.

I thought about that, is there a way to know which games are based on one set of controls? Back in the day you just rotated players at one set of controls at the arcade. It almost seems logical that many single player games would have been designed that way. Adding a second set of controls that is not a simultaneous two player game seems just an extraneous cost. I didn't mind rotating back in the day. Slapping up a few quarters against the plexi-glass bezel. :)

Krait

The thing is i have no idea which version of rom set i have, i have +6000 games in a zip file and there is no read me included and i have no idea how to see which version they are, Mame just dont make any sense to me.

Riverstorm

@Krait said in Mame 2 player turn based games, Controller issue:

Mame just dont make any sense to me.

I can be daunting at first but don't give up once you get the hang of it it's really not to bad. You can start here in helping to decided which set will fit your needs with some additional information on configuration.

https://github.com/retropie/retropie-setup/wiki/MAME

Here's an excellent tutorial on how to manage those games/ROMs. It also explain the different types of MAME sets. Some times I need to read through things a few times before it makes sense of what writer is trying teach. If you follow it you'll have an exact set that will work with the version of MAME you want to use. The Compatibility Lists are a great resource to see what games are working in the different versions. When you're playing some of those old school games and capture that nostalgic feeling the effort is worth the reward. :)

https://github.com/RetroPie/RetroPie-Setup/wiki/Managing-ROMs

caver01

@Krait said in Mame 2 player turn based games, Controller issue:

The thing is i have no idea which version of rom set i have

That's a recipe for long-term missteps, especially if your ROMs are current (or recent). Most of the arcade emulators that run with decent performance on the Pi achieve that because they are using MAME base code from "back in time". You really need to find the appropriate set for the emulator you want to use, and the links @Riverstorm provided have the answers. Posting future questions about problems with specific games will always come back to "what ROM set are you using?" or, "Are you certain you have the correct ROM version for that emulator?". You could be wasting everybody's time with a set that is UNKNOWN.

That said, you would be wise to read the forum rules and avoid discussions about ROM sites, torrents etc.

caver01

@Riverstorm said in Mame 2 player turn based games, Controller issue:

I thought about that, is there a way to know which games are based on one set of controls?

There are lists of titles for 1-player, 2-player, 3, 4 etc. but I've never seen a list for 2 player games that must be played using one set of controls. It's tricky anyway, because many original arcade games had DIP switch options for selecting cabinets. I have also seen games that support single vs. multiple coin mechanisms. In any case, there's nothing to be done about it. It simply depends on the original hardware. EDIT: Sometimes a specific clone ROM covers another cabinet design. Tetris is one.

You might be thinking you could lookup images of the original arcade control panels, but even this is misleading, as examples in photos may not represent the capabilities of the boards. The best example is still Black Tiger. You have to use a single set of controls for players 1 and 2, but setting cocktail mode allows two sets of controls--but the screen flips upside down! Presumably, the second player sat across from you at a cocktail (table) cabinet where the glass table top was the screen. This would imply/require player 2 to have their own controls, so the game supports that in cocktail mode only. Otherwise, the cabinet was built as a stand-up with one set of joystick+buttons that have to be shared.

The emulators are merely emulating the original design. In most cases, they aren't replacing or upgrading original functionality of arcade games.

Riverstorm

@caver01 said in Mame 2 player turn based games, Controller issue:

The emulators are merely emulating the original design. In most cases, they aren't replacing or upgrading original functionality of arcade games.

Yeah I always looked at MAME as emulation and not simulation. I am sure someone has built a catver file that would fit the bill if a guy really wanted.